More Women, Fewer Middlemen Boost Productivity For Agriculture In India

Via
The Hindu

NREGS helps to increase agriculture productivity
By N.J. Nair


Elimination of middlemen, increased participation of women

Men and women receive equal wages

Contractors eliminated


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Elimination of middlemen, increased participation of women and creation of sustainable projects on land, water and biomass have been cited as some of the highlights of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) being implemented in Palakkad and Wayanad districts.

An analysis of the scheme by the Centre for Rural Management points outs that major defects identified in the execution of other employment programmes are almost absent in the NREGS.

The report, submitted to the Union Ministry for Rural Development, says the achievements are mainly due to the presence of vibrant Panchayati Raj institutions, especially grama panchayts, and the experience gained through decentralised planning during the past one decade.

Positive results


Men and women labourers receive equal wages, contractors are religiously eliminated and use of machinery is limited to the minimum. One of the positive results of the elimination of contractors is that no serious muster roll manipulations have been reported.

Participation of women workers is much beyond the 33 per cent statutory provision and women Kudumbasree activists have played a major supervisory role in executing the works.

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